


enjoy your jane austen

by bipp_splapl



Series: to reckon [7]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Afterlife, Dead People, Fluff, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury Recovery, Introspection, Picnics, and sayaka is there, i like to think chihiro died and became emboldened but that's just me, leon has a grudge against mukuro which is explained in another part of this series whoopsy, mondo does the cooking mondo does the cleaning, mukuro reads a book!, there are like a few moments of angst but overall let them have picnic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24041584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bipp_splapl/pseuds/bipp_splapl
Summary: the former members of class 78 are friends!! and they are going to have a picnic!!! and it's going to be fun dammit!!!!
Series: to reckon [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715428
Comments: 3
Kudos: 54





	enjoy your jane austen

**Author's Note:**

> there are references to other parts of the series (mostly in leon and mukuro's relationship) but as always, this can be read as a standalone or part of the anthology. just know they're dead, they're slowly recovering from their deaths, and it's picnic time.

It was a lovely day. It was always a lovely day. Even when raining, the world seemed charming and bright. The loveliness would get tiresome after a while, but Class 78 much preferred blue skies to red. After growing so used to metal plates and fluorescent lighting, the sun felt like a blessing. It seemed everyone tried to spend as much time outside as possible.

Sayaka had found an old grill while. Enlisting Leon and Mondo’s help, the three of them were able to figure out how to set it up (even if it didn’t match the instruction manual exactly…) 

It really was the loveliest day - there was no better time for a picnic.

Chihiro had slowly adjusted to spending more time around Mondo, though still in a group setting. Rationally he knew nothing would happen. There was a pang of immense guilt that overtook the biker every time he looked at his victim, one that physically dragged his shoulders down. A weight so heavy it was palpable. The remorse was there...and even if it wasn’t, it’s not like anything could happen. They were already dead. Still, it’s hard to deactivate a hardwired flight response, even if it was directed towards one of his closest friends. 

Sayaka kept telling him healing takes time, no matter how much forgiveness or understanding you hold in your heart. He would be ok. They would  _ all  _ be ok. 

Picnics like this made them ok. 

With a soft  _ thud _ , an orange landed in Chihiro’s hands. He smiled at the piece of fruit before giving the Ultimate Baseball Star a thumbs up. After who-knows-how-long, Leon’s wounds finally started to show the beginning stages of healing. Time works differently here. There’s no end, so there’s no rush. It must have been what, almost two weeks? And he had just been able to take off his eye gauze, vision weakened from lack of light exposure. Chihiro had volunteered to help Leon regain his hand-eye coordination. Anyone else would struggle to go back to sports after a typical career-ending injury, but Leon’s…

He shuddered, remembering the batting cage. Chihiro had been standing towards the back, but even he noticed specks of blood covering his shoes. Sayaka’s and Mukuro’s deaths were shocking, but reality did not set in until witnessing his first punishment. In a twisted way, maybe he was lucky, being a victim. He didn’t have to witness another first hand. That’s not true. He shouldn’t think like that. 

A whistle pulled the programmer out of his train of thought. Without thinking, he tossed the fruit back, and Leon caught it without even looking. You can’t write of skills like that to muscle memory, not after the injuries he endured.  _ He really is a prodigy _ …

“Your form’s looking better, Fujisaki-kun!” Sayaka called over from her blanket with a smile. With an abundance of time on her hands, the Ultimate Pop Sensation had taken it upon herself to learn an instrument. Even now, she was attempting to tune her ukulele, humming interrupted by ugly twangs. 

“Hell yeah it is!” Chihiro felt a hand nuzzle his hair, glancing up towards the baseball player. Leon returned his look with a grin. “Doin’ this is practice, too, y’ know. ‘S gonna give me a run for my money.”

“I thought you hated practice, Leon…” 

“I do,” Leon nodded wistfully, cutting off Chihiro before he could continue. “I sure do.”

“ _ Can you three pipe down long enough to give me your fuckin’ orders? _ ” A voice called out. Mondo was grilling a few feet away, partly to keep the smoke at bay, and partly to give Chihiro his space. 

“Hey, hey, hey, that’s no way to speak to a lady,  _ stupid _ .” Leon slinked over to the grill, trying to pick up a piece of beef before getting his hand slapped away. Sayaka’s giggles filled the courtyard before she proceeded to give her order. The biker turned his attention towards Chihiro, eyes meeting briefly before Mondo glanced away, pretending to busy himself with the meat. Whatever he was thinking, it wasn’t about the yakiniku.

“I’m fine with pork, I’m not too picky,” Chihiro spoke up. Mondo glanced up, and he gave a small smile in return, allowing him to be at ease. Yes, a picnic will make them ok. Filled with a firmness of purpose, the programmer added, “and we should ask Ikusaba, too.”

Three pairs of eyes landed on him, and suddenly Chihiro didn’t feel so strong. Despite being both classmates and victims of the killing games, no one wanted to let her back into their truly-communal life. She did not earn the right, and yet, he felt wrong, isolating someone out like this. She was always a “lone wolf,” but this felt different. They weren’t even giving her a choice.

“I-I’m not saying we become best friends with her…” Chihiro quickly clarified, tugging at his sweater as he tried to think of what to say. “B-But, we could at least extend a metaphorical olive branch….”

A pair of lilac eyes narrowed before Mondo let out a tense laugh. “Now’s not the time for a fucki- _ ...a military joke. _ ”

“Oh,” Chihiro pursed his lips, raising a finger in thought. “Did I do that? I didn’t mean to...” 

“Ye-p,” Leon popped the p.

“Well…was it funny, at least?”

Sayaka looked down at her shoulder before shrugging. “It was unintentional.”

“But not a full laugh?”

“No.”

“A smile?”

“An acknowledgmen-”

_ “Jesus, it was a bad pun, alright? Can we fuckin’ move on already!?”  _ A rather characteristic outburst came from the direction of the grill. Mondo had not raged like this since his arrival, but something inside him snapped. “ _ The bitch isn’t even here, it’s not like it matters. _ ”

Chihiro just looked back and blinked, more surprised than anything. He tilted his head to the right, trying to understand the situation. “... she’s across the courtyard. Didn’t you see her?”

The eyes quickly shifted, tracking in the general direction the programmer was pointing. Sure enough, there sat Ikusaba Mukuro, reading a book in the shade. She was sitting far too close to miss that exchange. Chihiro heard Mondo stuttering to no one in particular, trying to cover for anything he just said. 

There was a  _ squelch  _ sound from something wet hitting the ground before he saw someone walking forward in the corner of his eye. Turning, Chihiro saw a stormy look on Leon’s face as he made a beeline towards the tree. Before even thinking, he chased after the ballplayer, planting himself in the way of the path. 

“What are you  _ doing _ , Leon?” Chihiro whispered, waving his arms around to keep the ball player from going around. 

“Pickin’ _ some daisies. What does it look like, _ ” he shot back, eyes still set on Mukuro, who glanced up from her book at this point. “Want to have some choice words.”

“Don’t do that,” Sayaka piped up, placing her ukulele to the side. “You know you’re no match…”

“Ain’t no weapons here, nothin’ she can do.”

“ _....Kuwata-kun… _ ”

“You’re still unarmed, dipshit,” Mondo had turned the heat down, turning his attention away from their food. 

“I mean, what is she gonna do?” Leon shot back, his eyes filled with a twisted fire. Whatever grudge he held against Ikusaba Mukuro, it was something much more personal than theirs. “Kill me twice?”

Chihiro responded to the hypothetical by placing his hands on Leon’s shoulders, using his body weight to hold him in place. “I’ll handle it.”

Leon could have pushed the programmer down if he wanted to, years of athletic training meant he was much stronger, even after the injuries he sustained. But instead, Leon stood there, simmer in his own heat but not putting up too much of a fight. His blue eyes were still locked tight with Mukuro’s grey. After a held breath, he finally sighed, glancing down and giving Chihiro a tight-lipped smile of reluctant approval. 

Chihiro returned what honestly looked more like a grimace with a double  _ pat-pat  _ of the shoulders before turning away. As he marched himself in the direction, the programmer began thinking. Being strong meant a lot of things. Being strong meant standing up for others. Being strong also meant standing up for yourself, even when it’s scary.  _ Right now _ , he hummed,  _ I am doing both _ . 

Mukuro’s eyes tracked Chihiro as he crossed over, her expression unreadable as always. Carefully she flipped the book over, letting the ground hold her place, keeping one hand on the hardcover and the other in her lap. She was not antsy, per se, but without her Ultimate title or Junko as back up, it had become harder to play it cool. The soldier had been thinking a lot recently - her sense of calm was nothing more than a facade.

It’s not like Chihiro intimidated her. Mukuro was not intimidated by anything, least of all a programmer who doesn’t even stand at five feet and looks like if you glared at him, he’d pee his pants. Well that’s not true. Death seemed to embolden the boy. Maybe he’d just cry. 

Finally, Chihiro made his way across the garden, planting himself squarely in front of Mukuro. Standing over his classmate like this, looking down...was this looming? He had never loomed before, and he didn’t really like it. It made him feel mean. Instead, he squats. 

“ _ Did you ever like us? _ ” Chihiro asked, his voice quiet and measured. 

To which Mukuro went to speak before pausing, closing her mouth. After a moment’s thought, she tries again. “I liked Makoto. He was the first person to smile at me.”

Something like rage burned behind his doe eyes, and for a second, Mukuro thought he was holding back tears. But as soon as the fire lit, it burnt out again, returning to a sense of calm. They looked at each other for a long time, eye-to-eye, but not an uncomfortable silence. There was no understanding, or acceptance, or anything, really. It was just two former classmates and an unwavering silence, broken only by fingers drumming against a book’s spine.

The programmer narrowed his eyes before standing back up, his hand idly tugging at his sweater. “Do you want a plate?” Chihiro asked, looking down to pull at a loose thread. 

“....what?”

“A plate of food, yes or no?” 

The thread was twisted between his fingers, and with a little tug, Chihiro pulled it out. Watching his hands, pretending like a piece of string, was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world instead of looking directly at the programmer. No, Mukuro was never the best with emotions, negotiations were always left up to her sister. She liked orders. She liked it when things were uncomplicated. An olive branch made things complicated.

Without looking up, she nodded, eyes glazed over, focused in the general direction of the grass. Mukuro did not need to see the face to know Chihiro’s expression must have been unreadable. 

In the corner of her eye, she saw a foot point at her book. “Alright. Enjoy your Jane Austen,” Chihiro says before he turns to walk away.

**Author's Note:**

> alrighty then! sorry i haven't posted in a few days, exams be like...exams. anyways. i have actually been restructuring the story a lot and reduced it from 30+ chap to 20ish so im p lit about that. the next part will have two chapters so it might take a little longer. also i really wanted to push something happy out NOW because uhhhhhhhhhhhh
> 
> my exams are gonna be done by nxt weekend so if im spotty until then, taht's why. anyways. having everything planned now rlly helps so it goes by p quick. im still thinking of what i might wanna do next. i know i like the ridiculous mobster au (rattatattat) 
> 
> but also like. what if i did a series of drabble requests of alt!mastermind au. you comment what character you wanna see, i interpret. i got many thoughts, many feelings. idk i wouldn't do that until mid/late may but ya, if there's interest, lmk
> 
> also as always, check out my tumblr @hnnng-hnnng or my tiktok @leonkuwata.stan i am changing my tiktok in the next week or so to @junkos.fursona just fyi. but yea! ty for reading im so glad the last part was well received !!!!!


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